5 Things NOT to Do When Flying

1. Be late. This is a huge one, since your stress will affect not only your blood pressure, but also your child. Kids feel if you are stressed, and you are more likely to prone them into not liking flying. When I am in a stress, I tend to get tunnel memory. My expression for the phase where I tend to be able to only keep a few things in my mind, and forget about details. That is when I leave my new bought sunglasses at the restroom, and when I not notice that the son’s pacifier gets left behind.

2. Forget your travel itinerary and tickets. You think it cannot happen? Neither did I. Until that time when I and my infant where traveling from USA to Germany. I had an electronic ticket, but I had forgotten I needed a paper ticker for the infant. Ended up costing me a lot since I had to buy him a new one for 299 dollars. So no matter how smart you are, make sure you check for everybody’s passport and ticket when you sit in the car (before you start driving, preferably).

3. Do not book any special kid friendly meal. Do your kid love spicy chicken or that other indescribably meal they serve on the flight? Mine actually does like to try new things, but that is not always the case for kids. So to be sure, check what kind of food alternatives you could get when booking the ticket. If you would like a more kid friendly alternative, you have to book one.

4. Forget to mention that you would like a bassinet for your infant. Yes, I have been flying for 7 straight hours, holding my very heavy son in my arms due to the fact that the bassinets where already booked. They have a limited number of bassinets on board, so make sure you book one. If nothing has changed, they are free, and will let your kid sleep nice and safe on the airplane in front of your guarding eyes.

5. Do not bother bringing anything to drink for the kid. Actually, this is a big one. There is a lot for the crew to do before and during take off, so they will not likely be able to run for something your kid would like to drink. And you will need to give her or him something a couple of minutes after take off, to ease the pain from the air pressure. Older kids can yawn or regulate air pressure better than smaller, so it can be useful to have something for them to drink.

About Caroline

I am a proud mother of two toddlers, living in Texas. I have been a globetrotter since childhood, and decided to continue with that despite all the hassle that comes with traveling with small kids. My opinion is that every kid benefits from exploring new cultures and seeing different places.
So far, my passport has stamps from India, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, France and Greece. When flying is not an option, me and my family take the car out for a road trip, exploring the adventurous USA.